Pep Guardiola has revealed the reason why Premier League giants Man City didn’t sign Lautaro Martinez from Inter Milan in 2020.
Speaking to ESPN ahead of his team’s Champions League final showdown with the Nerazzurri, via FCInterNews, the Cityzens coach explained that the team were well-stocked in the striker position at the time they were considering a move for Martinez and so didn’t bring him in.
Guardiola and City will come up against Martinez in just a few days’ time.
The Argentine is one of Inter’s key players, and could well be the man to decide the final in the Nerazzurri’s favour.
Should he do so, it could be the source of some real regret for Guardiola and City. The reason being that they had reportedly made a real effort to sign Martinez.
Guardiola Looks Back At Man City Failed Pursuit Of Lautaro Martinez
The Cityzens had made an attempt to sign the Inter striker during the summer of 2020. This was the only summer in the past six when City weren’t looking to defend the Premier League title, as they had lost out to Liverpool in the previous season.
Martinez looked like a target to give City an extra edge and wrestle back their title.
It would be fair to say that City haven’t fared too badly without Martinez, who stayed put at Inter.
However, at the same time, things have also gone quite well for Martinez as well.
The 25-year-old has emerged as a key player under both Antonio Conte and Simone Inzaghi. He has won the Serie A title, the Coppa Italia twice, and the Supercoppa Italiana twice with the Nerazzurri.
Moreover, Martinez won the World Cup with Argentina.
Now, the striker and his teammates are aiming to win the Champions League ahead of Guardiola and City.
Of the Cityzens’ chase of Martinez, Guardiola said that “Lautaro is an exceptional player. However, at that time we had Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus, so he was never a possibility for us.”
